


Teenage Wasteland

by justkrissy



Category: Banana Bus Squad, The Misfits (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:06:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29191263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justkrissy/pseuds/justkrissy
Summary: For as long as teenagers could remember, they ruled the world. Memories of their past lives that included the specs of details about adults, forgotten. The only thing on their high spirited minds are good times and endless partying. But there's always something lurking in the shadows, observing, listening, hungering.When a lifeless body is allegedly found, Jaren Smith (Smii7y) is forced to sacrifice the unheard truth about this world for the sake of everyone's lives.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 2





	1. Thank God It's Friday

Queue another day of festivity.

Pyramid of spilling drinks.

Top rated music on demand.

Colorful lights blinding the audience.

Gossiping the latest scoop.

Late night fun under the covers.

Teenagers have taken over Earth.

But to top it all off on this day of the week in particular.

"TGIF motherfuckers!" Jaren cheered on the top of his lungs from the glass railing on the roof of the penthouse. His buddies and party strangers screamed along with him to adrenaline thrill that shot across the crowd.

From below they recorded and chanted for the seventeen year old boy to make the jump and hype up the evening straight till midnight.

The pool itself was rippling infinitely to the activity within it as it waited for the boy who was clearly wasted today for a reason.

Jaren leaped from the rail and landed in the water successfully, just narrowly missing the edge which had everyone panicking in excitement.

When the boy popped his head from the water- flicking his brown hair back from his eyes to throw fists in the air, he listened to the crowd cheer again on the roof.

Their voices just blending with the other parties on every roof of the penthouses across the city. Light shows wavered into the night sky like tube men in the wind.

Jaren swam to the pool's edge as the teens around him ruffled his damped hair and patted his soaked back as a form of respect. He crawled out and was tossed a towel to the face.

Courtesy of Matt, his very best friend for as long he can remember. "That jump was crazy stupid! You could've  
gotten hurt!"

"Do you even care?"

"Nope!"

Both boys laughed it off, making their way through the tightening crowd on the roof to head inside to the main floor where the music was louder and dancing was wilder.

As they got down the stairs, passing a couple making out against the walls, Matt showed his phone to the other of his diving performance. The views and likes were sky rocketing by the second.

Every social media platform was uploading a video every second to showcase what's it like at their side of the party, their side of the world.

Everything and everyone was incredible.

Jaren dabbed the towel against his head to dry out his hair as he made his way to the bar for a drink, "Cheers to another Friday."

Matt let out a tiring sigh, ordering himself a drink also and sitting next to his best friend, "You can say that again. I might sleep for the whole weekend."

Saturdays and Sundays were considered a resting period since everyone is so burnt out from the week itself of nonstop partying activities.

It's been that way ever since. No rules, no laws, no adults. Just teenagers living their best life to the fullest.

Their drinks were served.

Jaren drank his in one sitting, "Same, maybe. I wanna see how the neighboring cities are doing. Have you seen how extreme the parties have becoming in this state?"

Matt nodded, taking a sip of his alcoholic beverage, "Immaculate. Not many folks travel but go for it man, you will be missed here." But his friend reminded him that it was a maybe. "So what are you doing tonight? Getting laid?"

Jaren chuckled as he turned on his stool in time to see two girls walk by, both giving him a teasing smile plus glares then carried on. He continued to eye them even if their backs were turned, "Dunno, not really in the mood."

The music shifted into a playlist of explosive EDM. More teens were subconsciously dragged to the dance floor to dance the night away.

The colorful lights engulfed the prestige interior of the penthouse revealing teens scattered on all floors doing their own thing until the arrival of midnight.

Jaren was in awe to the sight. Not the first time, surely won't be the last and honestly, he could never get bored of it. Non can deny that fact.

Besides, everyone knows everyone. There's no such thing has the popular kid on the block, every face is recognizable and everyone is just that damn fun to hang with.

Life started that way and no one wanted to change nor question it.

As the clock struck eleven, Matt said he was gonna bounce and hang with the other boys and so he dipped. Taking his seat not too long after was a boy a year older than Jaren.

Jaren glanced at hi, curiously. Green eyes, smoked blonde hair that reached his cheeks and a look that could make anyone fall head over heels.

Scrap the fact of everyone knowing everyone, Jaren has never seen this person around and he was illegal to be this stunningly mysterious.

Perhaps he was from another city. It's rare to have teens crossing over yet it's always welcomed.

"Give me your best," the new guy told the bartender who of course was a teen like himself. While he waited, the boy finally acknowledged the one sitting next to him. He simply glanced over once, smiled, then looked ahead again.

Jaren bit the insides of his cheeks, a feeling in his chest swelling up drastically and he just wanted to let it out. So he turned back to the counter, signaling the bartender to serve him exactly what the new guy ordered.

That caught the new one's attention and so his green eyes rolled over to Jaren with a peak of interest.

The two stared at each other as the music sounded drummed out. It's as if they were the only ones in the huge space despite hundreds of drunk teens on the dance floor behind them.

"You're not from around here are you?" Jaren cliche-ly asked, resting an elbow on the counter to prop his head on his hand. If he wanted to attract this boy then he may as well look the part.

No, Jaren isn't a fuck boy.

"It's that easy to tell huh? Not the first I've been asked," the new boy said. His drink was given and he cupped a hand around it. "I travel to a city once a week, guess I might just be lucky stopping at this one."

Jaren's cheeks flushed but it was hard to tell under the influence of this crazy lighting. He laughed it off lightly and received his drink also, "If that's the case then I suppose you're looking for some fun tonight."

The new boy straighten his back with a grin and raised his shot glass to the other lad who copied his movements also, "It would be my pleasure, kind stranger."

Glasses were clinked and drinks were consumed.

One surprising factor about the bedrooms in a penthouse is that there's always a room available for two drunken lovebirds.

Fridays were amazing.

The sun was scared in this world, it signified a new day of peculiar happenings. But for the weekends, it meant that the city sleeps.

Five days of fun, two days of rest. No one knew who came up with that idea exactly, but it was so worth it.

Everyone's high will ride out to make way for another week. So usually, most teens sleep or catch up on their socials. Some visit the roofs they sleep under or just hang out with friends casually.

Clean up crew? Some folks make up to it. Sometimes, some things.

Jaren felt his senses awaken. He stretched his limbs while cracking open his eyes, followed by a yawn and pain down below.

Right, that happened last night.

Jaren melted into his pillow more with a huge smile on his face. He'll have to brag to Matt later than he did in fact get laid for the first time ever and it was incredible.

Speaking of, Jaren tossed his hands out across the bed to feel no one there. Sitting up and looking around the messy room, he noticed that the boy he slept with was gone.

Unfortunately expected. The boy did say that he jumps from city to city and so Jaren couldn't really complain. He just wondered if that boy will come back.

They better.

Jaren rolled off the bed and had to remind himself that he was still at the penthouse. He could hear voices in the hallway.

Technically this place belonged to no one, nowhere did. Everyone owned everything, you could visit anywhere whenever. But Jaren had his personal hideout in the city.

After slipping his pants on, he got his phone out from the pockets to see a flood of messages from across the world really.

Today's social uploads showed the messy aftermath of a week long party. Some folks were posting pictures of the beach in which they'll be spending their weekend at. And the rest just posted images of their comfy beds.

Jaren smiled and liked as much as he could before growing bored of it. Besides, something new is always being posted by the second. He gathered his bearings and left the room. He waved to some teens who were sick from hangovers.

"Yo Smitty, that jump on the roof last night was sick!" A teen boy mentioned at the foot of the stairs with a lazy grin.

"As sick as your hangover?" Jaren smiled back, connecting their hands before fist bumping it as a sign of respect. "Get better man."

Walking away, Jaren headed to the very bottom floor where he was able to finally step outside and into the natural lighting. He sucked in a deep breath and let it all out.

Saturday, a day for mental recovery. Usually this time around, people would be driving up and down the streets from one party house to another. Now its subtle and silent.

Jaren however didn't drive or ride a bike, he tends to hitch one from kind strangers or a friend or simply walk if it's not too far.

And speaking of friends, where comes Matt driving by in an SUV with a few other friends in the back.

"Need a lift?"

They drove through the city peacefully. Teens out on the streets were mostly cleaning up or getting ready to grab something to eat by a corner shop.

Everyone didn't necessarily have a part to play, you could play anything and still be respected for it.

"I puked seven times this morning," Cameron said out of the blue, he was proud.

"Gross man.." Grizzy mumbled before he was shaken up by Mason.

"What ye mean gross? I puked ten times before taking three pounds of weed."

"That's suicide, Mason."

"I say it's a record."

Jaren rolled his eyes from the front, he was in a good mood and so he wanted to step on these losers, "Well I got laid last night."

The SUV fell silent for a while but Jaren was far too oblivious to notice since he was grinning like an idiot.

It fell apart when Matt was unable to hold his laugh in anymore. "Hold on, hold on. You got laid? You were supposed to lay."

Swagger in the back just snorted, "Everyone knew his ass was gay. Who's the lucky guy?"

Jaren shrugged innocently, "No clue. He said he goes from city to city once a week. I doubt I'll see him again."

Cameron sucked in a sharp breath to indicate it was a bad situation, "Damn, a one night stand?"

"Eh, I don't really care. He has his life to live and so do I. Maybe he'll rotate and swing by one day."

That was understandable and so the guys hummed before distracting themselves in another pointless conversation.

Though as time went on, the guys were dropped off where they wanted to be one by one until it was just Matt and Jaren left in the front seat of the SUV listening to music on the radio.

"Hey Matt," began Jaren randomly.

"What's up?" Asked Matt, curious.

"You ever think...there's more to life than this? That's there's something besides partying all week long with people of our age group? Like, what was it life before? What was our purpose and meaning before stumbling on this path?"

Matt furrowed his brows, his eyes dead focused on the road ahead trying to register what the fuck he just heard.

Jaren couldn't take it anymore, he dropped the act by laughing out loud and revealing the phone in his hand with a long post on it, "Some drunk dude from our city just posted this and it's becoming a meme. Could you believe that?"

Matt laughed along also, "Good, cause for a second I thought you had too much to drink haha." He then slowed down the car once they approached a certain building.

Jaren lightly shook his head, "I mean, if that were the case then who the fuck cares? Everyone's living their best life for as long as we can remember. I bet it was a boring dump before all this."

"Agreed, and in four weeks is New Years."

"Crap, I nearly forgot! The skies of the world is gonna explode."

"Literally everyone is gonna be on a roof like last year and pass out from their high."

"Then it's a whole other year of nonstop partying."

The SUV was parked outside a condo where Jaren reside. He could've picked an expensive hotel or literally anywhere else that isn't boring, but he liked the quietness around him at times.

After thanking his best friend, he exited the car and watched it disappear down the road before entering the building. As expected, it was a mess. It amazes him that some teens chose this location to party their asses off.

What's new?

"Sup Smitty," said a teen girl nearby watering the lobby plants along the walls.

"Hey Ava- keeping those healthy ay?" Noticed the boy who walked up to her.

"Mhm, it's the weekend so I can finally catch up with keeping the wildlife around here growing. I know not much do it but I play my part," Ava smiled sweetly before pushing her blue strands out her face. "What are you up today?"

"Might just sleep in, I had a long night."

"You say that about every night."

"Am I wrong though?"

Laughing it off they waved and went about their thing. Jaren acknowledged other teens in the area before reaching the next elevator to take him to the very top floor.

Jaren tapped his feet and hummed to the elevator music until the doors slipped open and he entered the hallway. Honestly, he doesn't visit his personal space so often so walking this hall was sometimes foreign.

Soon enough he reached the door and simply opened it since he never keeps it lock. Jaren sighed in content to the presence of his room, he missed it.

Pushing up the door he stepped into the space, picking up fallen objects and lazily placing them back where they need to be.

He went to the window and drew the curtains apart, welcoming the natural light and having an overview of the sleeping city below.

Jaren sighed in content and went to the kitchen for some water to drink before calling it in. He may just rest until night to check up on his friends, but for now, he wanted some bloody sleep.

Though he fell asleep with only one thing on his mind, or rather, someone.

He remembered green eyes staring longingly into his eyes. He could almost feel the pale hands running up his chest to travel to his head where his hair was pulled gently. It made the boy quiver in pleasure when the rings along those fingers would even get stuck in his hair at times.

And the ghost kisses along every inch of his skin while the boy above him worked his magic to pleasure him in every way possible.

Jaren opened his eyes to his empty bed, he was gripping the sheets tightly. He isn't the type to fall in love, but this boy, he was very different, he could just tell.

What was his name?


	2. User Unknown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ava's eyes widen to the possibilities and it made her ill to come to a realization, "Jaren...what is this world really?"
> 
> Jaren blinked, his eyes turning to the fire where the carcass of the hand was no more, "I wish I knew.."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In regards to the graphic violence this book has been labelled as, I will say there is a warning throughout this chapter in terms of that. Read with caution if you may. And enjoy ^^

"Fuck.." John crashed on his back next to the boy with brown hair whom caught his attention in just less than ten seconds. That's a first. He listened to the younger one breathe heavily to overcome his high.

Neither shared a word, they just stared at the blank ceiling, soaking in the music that echoed from downstairs and pretty much across the city for the matter.

Voices lingered right outside the bedroom hall, non curious to the two boys inside who were barely just as loud as the noise all around.

John shut his eyes slowly to sigh, he hated it all.

"Where are you...going after this?" Asked the boy who he just made love with. He sounded rather exhausted.

"Are you that curious?" John asked, refusing to turn his head. If he dare look the other in the eyes, he knew he'd get attached and he couldn't afford it.

"Hmm...is that a crime?"

"What if it was?"

"Then I'd be arrested each time I asked."

John opened his eyes now and contemplated on replying but he decided against it. Turning his head daringly, the boy was fast asleep.

What a cute sight for a weird boy. John idly moved the boy's hair out his face and sighed when he realized how late it was getting. Friday had passed, now its Saturday morning, he needed to go.

"Thank you for tonight," whispered John, kissing the boy on his forehead before getting out the bed and slipping his clothes back on. He pulled the blankets over the sleeping one and exited the bedroom without another word.

The blonde dodged the drunken teens who tried getting his attention to waste the night away but John was sober enough to decline.

Luckily for him he exited the penthouse without being asked anything and the smell of fresh air was so alluring. Teens roamed the streets of course but that was the least of his worries since he'll be heading out of the city.

John suddenly groaned to a migraine that brewed in his head right then and there. He felt his eyes dance in their sockets, unable to remain still and the world around him seem to vibrate into a different existence.

The teens walking around where now adults in business suites on their phones. Cars drove in their correct lanes and the sky rises were rid of party lights.

Everything was all going accordingly.

But that imagery happened in a series of violent flashes. John held the side of his head, shutting his eyes to ride out the pain until it all ceased.

Eyes were open and he found himself in the same space as before. Just teens having chaos of fun around him. So it happened again?

"I gotta get out of here.." John told himself, rubbing his eyes and then walking down the street with his hands in his pockets.

The first time he received that migraine was roughly a couple months ago, on the day of his nineteenth birthday. When it occurred he knew he was in deep waters, it made his eyes open, it made him know that this life was fake.

He knew there was something off here- in the world for the general matter. It was perfect, almost too perfect and it sickened him to come to terms that no one truly cared.

Why was he the only teen on this damn planet to not question the existence of this system? Had it always been that way? It seemed highly unlikely.

His theory begun to be proven right when one of his best friends disappeared on their twentieth birthday. Gone without a trace, no words or comment, it's like they never existed. And those who knew of that friend just seem to magically no question their whereabouts, it was alarming enough to make John throw up for hours upon end.

That's one reason why John hops from city to city for answers. The other reason is because they keep following him. He couldn't explain who they was, but he knew someone or something was after him for knowing too much accidentally.

John has fallen out of line with this world and so the universe is punishing him for it. But he wasn't going to give up, he wanted answers. Staying in one spot for too long however would get him killed.

And these imageries he keeps receiving, why? What did they mean? They always consisted of adults, was it the future or the past? No matter how hard the boy tries to decipher it all, he hits a dead end.

Speaking of dead ends, he came to the exit point of the city. Weird, he was so caught up in his own flood of thoughts that he hadn't realized he was walking for so long.

Over the horizon he could practically see the other city in the far distance due to how brightly lit up it was at these early hours before dawn. That's his next pit stop for a week, what a life.

John wondered if he should take a car- well of course. No one would care, every car belonged to everyone so he's sure the last person to drive the car he just took wouldn't mind.

As he drove down the vacant highway, he admired whatever beauty this peculiar world had left to offer. And that was a simple sunrise.

His pastoral eyes seem to shimmer a golden spectrum as he stared it, not caring where the wheels of the car too him at the moment.

In fact, he felt as if he's seen this sunrise before. Not in this location, not in this time or as of late, but at one point in his life.

He just refused to remember. Or maybe something was preventing him from remembering.

And that something caused his car to blow a front tire out of the blue. The bumper of the car fell low, it screeched and scraped against the pavement until sparks flew and block the vision of the windshield, shattering the immense silence of time. Through panic and sweat, John swerved out of control. He slammed on the breaks but it only made the situation worse.

The car made a sharp turn on its side, unable to uplift its weight and so it toppled over, barrel rolling multiple times before coming to a stop on its correct standing.

"Mother fu.." John winced to the pain in his side and practically everywhere. It was so brutal, he's never felt it before. The newfound feeling was making him swell up in tears. 

He licked the iron taste from his lips as his eyes tried focusing on what was happening. His environment spun lightly and his movements were numb.

However, he managed to pry the door open and stumble out to witness the chaotic state of the car. The windows were cracked up, bumper scraped off, one tire blown, it was a wreckage. The dents weren't even going to be questioned- it's a miracle he even survived without a bloody airbag installed.

But, what caused it?

As if his dying prayers were answered, John's body grew cold. His spine was straighten and his breath was lost once he heard something breathing so close by his ears.

This was the monstrosity chasing him? He never knew what it looked like but a sixth sense had always told him to run, but he couldn't. He was paralyzed in utter fear with a hand accompanied by sharp, long fingers laced around his shoulders casually.

It had a sturdy grip, forcing the teen boy to not dare move a muscle in an attempt to run and even if he did he would be harming his body more thanks to the aftermath of the crash.

John however was at lost for words or thought. It wasn't his fault for accidentally uncovering a part of the truth to this world.

Now he shuddered to the creature gargling, a slobber of saliva just combing through his hair and down his horrified face.

Yet, the boy was curious. John had nowhere to run, none could hear him from this miles away. He was alone, he always had been.

So he looked up, his eyes widen to the multitude of teeth the monster had to offer and its eyes- oh its eyes, it had none.

The monster hung its tongue out like a hungry pup before bringing its head down to the boy with an inhumane cry who screamed bloody murder that echoed for eternity.

Ava just finished attending to the plants around the condo she spends her weekends at. This was a well deserved time spent since now she could sleep for the rest of the evening and hang out with her gals tomorrow.

"I found some fertilizer down the flower shop," in came one of those gals, Autumn, carrying inside the lounge a sack of dirt.

"Set it down here," Ava pointed next to a potted plant. "Ugh, Momo and Minx said they'd be here."

"Sleeping in to be well rested for tomorrow," Autumn informed as she dropped the sack of dirt since it was killing her back. "We should too."

"You can go ahead, I'll finish up here.".

"Alright hun, see ya."

Ava got on her feet with a huff and used her car keys to tear the top of the fertilizer sack open effortlessly. At the same time, she heard a small group of people exiting the condo to go for a walk for something.

Mere seconds later and in came Jaren with a loud yawn just to make his presence welcome.

The blue haired girl rolled her eyes as she used both hands to pry open the fertilizer sack easily, "Hey sleepy head."

The boy waved and sat on a bench that was against the wall next to the other, "I can't sleep. I can still hear the ringing of a week long party even though the world is resting."

Ava chuckled as she reached in the dirt with a small shovel to scoop it out, "Relatable. Folks down at North York raided the hell out of the mall, I saw videos of them vandalizing it."

Jaren rolled his eyes, "One reason to avoid downtown- the teens there are wilder than we are."

The girl nodded in agreement and patted down the fertilizer over the surface if dirt that resided in a pot. She sighed, "You didn't happen to see that post Jimmy made right?"

"Which Jimmy?"

"Beast."

"Ah, yeah his drunk philosophy blew up didn't it? Don't tell me you believe it."

"Of course not Smitty. But it's been on my mind ever since, it's such an interesting spin on things."

"Even if it were true, then I bet our lives before all this was garbage. I mean, look at us now, everyday fun in the sun and so many people who accepts you. That's my type of world to live in. No rules, no hate, no mur-"

Ava screamed loudly, backing away from the pack of fertilizer with her mouth covered. Her hair seem to stand and she was on high alert.

Jaren's voice hitched to the happening and he mentally questioned why the girl would scream. His eyes gazed at the sack while his legs subconsciously made his body stand.

The boy rounded the fertilizer to bend down and have a look on the inside himself. His mouth turned into a disgusting scowl and his pupils shrunk in utter realization what he was looking at.

"A-Ava...where'd you g-get this from?" Jaren tried to speak, it was hard to swallow, he was shaking terribly.

"Autumn b-brought it from the flower shop down the street. I-I don't understand.." Ava couldn't speak and she even turned her head.

At the same time, the doors swung open and in came a group of kids chatting amongst themselves. They spotted the two and of course went in their direction.

Jaren quickly moved to stand in front of the fertilizer with a forced smiled upon his face, "Yo Evan, it's been a hot minute huh?"

Evan, a charming Asian chuckled before slinging his hand around his American friend's shoulder who had stunning blue eyes, "It has huh? I'm hosting a birthday bash on Monday, you should come."

Jonathon- said teen with the blue eyes only rolled them, "For the last time, stop dishing out private invitation when its public."

"Turning the big twenty?" Asked Jaren with his forced smile still, he thanked the heavens he wasn't questioned for it.

"Yup! So its gonna be a blast, my place all day."

"I'll see you there then."

Evan smiled and gestured for his other pals to get a move on by heading out the door again to go inform more of their friends scattered across the city.

The boy and girl remaining in the lounge let out a relieved sigh before returning their attention to the matter at hand.

Literally, there was a severed human hand dug up from the soil in the sack, pale, motionless and unknown.

When the hour struck nine, Ava and Jaren were watching the human hand burn to nothing in the fire they started out back under a tree.

Both were still marveled to the discovery and weren't sure what to do. There has never been reports of...death.

"What do we do? We're probably the only people around here who knows about this," Ava spoke quietly, too afraid to dig into something ever again.

"Who could've done this? I thought everyone respected everyone, this is unthinkable," Jaren mumbled. No one else can know about this, it would stir too much trouble. "I say we get to the bottom of it."

"Pft, us two? What's a couple of teens like you and me snooping around when there's a potential killer on the loose?"

"So you rather party the year away when another person could be killed? No, I wanna stop that from happening. And what if this isn't the only person? What if more bodies are right under our noses and we don't know about it?"

Ava's eyes widen to the possibilities and it made her ill to come to a realization, "Jaren...what is this world really?"

Jaren blinked, his eyes turning to the fire where the carcass of the hand was no more, "I wish I knew.."

Something was watching them from a distance, knowing fully well it wasn't time to pounce. And so it licked its filthy teeth and returned to the shadows.


	3. Past's Mystery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone's dead.
> 
> Their body parts are scattered.
> 
> Resources are supposedly transported by teens themselves.
> 
> Who or what is producing these resources exactly?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, here with another chapter. On a side note I've given my account a small name change due to some reasons but other than that it's all good.   
> Enjoy ^^

Sunday arrived in full swing. The world continued to sleep with the lack of activities to get ready for another week of fun. All except Jaren of course.

What he discovered yesterday still made him puke just by thinking about it. Never in his life did he think he'd see a human body part on its own. Where was the rest of it anyways? He didn't want to know.

Yet he was still determined on getting answers. However, he refused to tag Ava along since she was still shaken up and so he wanted what was best for her and told her not to involve herself.

She of course told him to be careful and that's what he'll do.

First thing's first, Jaren will go down to the flower shop and ask around for any suspicious activity. That's where the hand came from and therefore that's where he'll start.

At the brink of noon he was dressed up in casual clothing and heading out the condo. Ava was no where to be seen, she must be with her girls. Good, anything to get her mind off things.

So at the moment, Jaren was walking down the sidewalk. He passed some teens gathered by some shops just having a good time by playing music on speakers.

Some waved to him and he would wave back with a forced smile, leaving the teens oblivious to his true behavior. Jaren skipped ahead to be where he needed to be faster. Not that he necessarily had somewhere else to be, he just wanted to get this over with.

Reaching the flower shop was challenging when it came to the boy having to step through the door. When he did, the bell at the top chimed and the aroma of luscious flowers enriched his sense of smell.

"If it isn't Smitty Smith Smith," said a girl by the cashier counter who was currently watering the plants on top of it. "This is the last place I'd expect you to be visiting."

"Hey Bee," Jaren smiled, he honestly didn't expect her to be here. He hasn't seen her in a while either so the greeting was warm. "Ah, just one of those occasions I guess."

"Hm? Occasions? Oh my, it's for a special someone isn't it?" Bee teased before giggling. "Well you came to the right place! I have a variety of flowers that could fit your significant other's personality."

"Sure," the boy replied without second thought. He kept thinking of the boy he slept with, maybe he'd like something flowers if he'd ever were to come back. "Anything green?" He remembered those green eyes.

"I'll have a look!"

While she went to the backroom, Jaren used this time to walk around the small shop. Once in a while he would sneakily use his hands to dig around the dirt of some of the pots.

He found nothing but dirt and pebbles. That was good, but bad at the same time. He didn't want think anymore body parts were laying around here, but it was a possibility. Once he heard footsteps of the girl returning, he kept his hands to himself while wiping them clean in his pants.

"Back!" Bee announced with three small potted plants that were of green color. When the boy reached the counter she sent them down before him. "Here we have green orchids, my personal favourite, this one is a green chrysanthemum which is quite rare and lastly this one is called bells of Ireland."

"Ireland? Are these from there?" Jaren asked suddenly and he hoped he didn't startle the girl since she looked taken aback, but she smiled.

"No silly. These grow in western Asia, so countries like Syria, Iraq and Yemen," she answered truthfully.

"So how are they here from so far? We're in the eastern coast."

"Transportation? Teens rarely travel but when they do they bring over their native belongings."

"Do you alone work here?"

"Um, sort of? Some other folks of mine tune in. I usually find a new potted plant in the back so I assume the ones before me took them in. No notes are usually left, but how can I pass up such beauty?"

Jaren averted his gaze. While everyone's partying, stuff is happening behind the scenes and not many know nor talk about this.

This was new information for him. He knew everyone turn in for a random jobs across the countries but no one seem to know exactly where all these necessities and resources come from beforehand.

He wanted to find out.

Bee raised a brow and crossed her hands, "What's with all the questions?"

Jaren stuttered but he ended up swiping the bells of Ireland which was a young plant and barely sprouting, "Just curious, that's all. And thank you, these will definitely impress my uh...significant other."

Before the girl could question who it may be, the boy bolted out the door without another word. Sighing, the girl blew her hair out her face and took her phone out.

Her eyes lit up, she was reminded of a huge birthday party happening tomorrow.

Jaren stared at the potted plant in his hand as he walked to god knows here. This knew information was alarmingly scary. It seems the more he dove into this mystery the more he's uncovering the truth about this world.

Or maybe he should just forget about it and call it day- live the everyday party life like that always have been.

No, he couldn't. He couldn't afford for another person to die, worse, whose hand was that? What if it had been a close friend? He didn't want to think about it.

Sighing out loud he looked up and found himself in a central park. A few teens were around on the benches on their phones or just laying in the grass, cloud gazing.

Jaren decided to catch a breather to think this all over more proficiently. So he found an empty space on a bench to sit on and he rest the plant next to him.

Someone's dead.

Their body parts are scattered.

Resources are supposedly transported by teens themselves.

Who or what is producing these resources exactly?

As far as anyone can tell, teens were never responsible when it came to farming, mining, marketing, all that stuff. Everything's just there on the shelves in high quality, prepared with patience. Thus no one asked about it, free shit is free shit.

These are questions no one wanted to ponder for which they had everything they needed right here. So, why care? But with a dead body on the table, answers needed to be fulfilled.

It was getting late and Jaren reached a roadblock, he didn't know where to go from here. What Bee said was the truth, a lot of teens visit places you turn into for a shift way before time.

Therefore keeping track of that without some sort of time sheet system is unreachable. Bee didn't know who was before her but she knows where the plants are from thanks to the internet, Jaren guessed. 

Western resources making their way to the eastern coast? The teens around here are self confident but goodness, Jaren knew neither flies a plane since he's never seen one in the sky.

Boats were fairly common since they're easier to operate, but that would take days- possibly months for the shipments to arrive.

Besides, who ordered them?

"Fong's having a party tomorrow, you coming?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, he's a cool dude."

"Sweet twenty! You don't really hear of those often."

Jaren listened to a boy and girl talk as they walked away from the park. What they mentioned was true. Most of the teens around here are thirteen to eighteen. So whoever announces being twenty isn't fairly common at all.

It was getting late. Jaren decided to call it in and get his mind off things temporarily by attending that birthday bash tomorrow.

He'll continue this investigation another time. The boy picked up his potted plant and journeyed home thinking about that boy with green yes once again.

"Excited for tomorrow?"

"Honestly, I'm kinda scared. Turning twenty means I won't be a teen anymore."

"Pft, so? Doesn't mean the others will look at you differently. You're still a dorky teen at heart."

"Thanks babe," a sarcastic response from Evan who just laughed it off afterwards. He got comfortable on the couch and pulled the other into his chest. "What are we watching tonight?"

"You're the pre birthday boy, you choose," Jonathon said, tilting his head up at the Asian only to receive a quick kiss on the forehead.

While they searched for a movie to buckle down into, the voices of their friends grew significantly louder in the other room- playing video games.

These said guys have practically taken over this pent house in particular but anyone's welcomed to visit, just not to stay.

As the movie started, the friends exited the gaming lounge to call it a night. They teased the two lovebirds on the couch before leaving the pent house itself.

When the movie was halfway, Evan felt drowsy. He wasn't the type to feel tired but when he went to check the time on his phone, it was Monday morning.

A flood of happy birthday messages just exploded across his socials and he couldn't help but feel content. If only this headache went the hell away.

Carefully he got up- successfully not awakening Jonathon. When he did he moved to the kitchen for a glass of water.

While the migraine continued, so did the pinging of messages, the noises it made wasn't helping his case.

After getting the water from the tap, the Asian gulped it down with ease but he had a hard time keeping balance. Luckily the glass didn't break on impact when he set it on the counter.

"Hello my angel," a woman's voice soothed the crying baby in his crib. "I'm here now, there's nothing to worry about."

Evan squinted at nothing, whose voice was that and why was it so damn familiar? It scared him to hell. The voice became disoriented as the unknown woman continued to speak, coaxing her words motherly.

Losing his breath momentarily, Evan gripped the edges of the counter backwards while his vision spun. Sweat beads formed down his face as he was straining to gain control of the situation.

"I'll teach you everything you need to know for when you're older, okay young man? Mommy isn't going anywhere."

Mommy? That term was so foreign around here yet Evan was unable to prevent these relapses from happening. As more and more memories occurred to him, the more he wanted this pain to end.

Luckily, Jonathon was awoken by the cries and he rushed to his boyfriend to investigate the matter.

"Evan? Evan what's wrong?" Jonathon held the Asian's shoulder before a wave of panic washed over him when the other was unresponsive. "Wait right here, I'll get some meds."

Evan watched helplessly when the other bounded away to retrieve said medical supplies from upstairs. But it was too late, the Asian collapsed at an awkward angle and he hit his head against the counter, leaving him in a state of unconsciousness on the floor.

The last thing he remembered before blacking out was seeing a woman with dark hair and Asian features smiling down at him as the sun kissed her face.

That smile however wasn't just a smile. There was something more sinister behind it, something dreadful of what's to come and baby in the crib could tell.

Little did Evan know, it was the last frame he ever had of this woman.


	4. Truthful Declare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claw marks were slashed across the girl's chest. Her clothes torn open to reveal the bloody wounds.
> 
> "This can't be human," the boy mumbled. "No way it can.."
> 
> "...What's living among us?" The girl asked, afraid for an answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The only warning for this chapter I can give is that there are two character deaths. Proceed if you wish.

Queue another day of festivities.

Pyramid of spilling drinks.

Top rated music on demand.

Colorful lights blinding the audience.

Gossiping the latest scoop.

Late night fun under the covers.

Teenagers have taken over Earth.

But to top it all off on this day of the week in particular.

"Happy Birthday Evan!"

The Asian stood awkwardly at the podium where the DJ had lowered the volume of the music behind him. Gulping once, Evan smiled and raised  
his drink slightly.

"Let's have a good night."

That was enough to set the mood again, the music exploded through the speakers and teens returned to dancing and drinking and other wild activities.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Jonathon came by, taking the Asian's hand to lead him away from the crowd for now.

"Better than before, that's for sure," Evan admitted, taking a sip of his drink. His headache from earlier had definitely subsided and it made him wonder if it all ever happened.

"Good, good. Just enjoy tonight, its your birthday," Jonathon acknowledged, reaching up to plant a kiss on the boy's cheek. "I'm gonna see what my brother is up to, just so he doesn't hurt himself like last time."

He walked off to the direction that lead to the balcony, leaving Evan at the foot of some steps that went to the second floor.

Taking another drink from the red plastic cup, Evan's eyes scanned the crowd and wandered what to do. Usually he would be crazy excited and already surfing the activities, but he felt out of it.

Whatever happened to him earlier set him on edge and he couldn't help but feel that there was more that meets the eye here. It scared him.

"What you standing around here for? Party's over here!" In came Tyler, one of the birthday boy's buddies, dragged him by the arm to the dancing teens to get him in the groove of things.

Maybe that's what Evan needed.

Jaren came in through the doors casually and momentarily used a hand to shield the lighting from his eyes until they adjusted. Weird, at this point he would've been running through the crowd screaming his head off for fun.

Perhaps attending another party wasn't the best medicine, not when he learnt some mild information. But he didn't want to look too suspicious or out of place and so he wore yet another fake smile and traversed with the other teens.

Evan was nudged and bumped as he stood in the middle of the dance floor surrounded by familiar faces. His motivation to dance or to even move a muscle, gone.

Neither knew what happened to him before for which he had asked his boyfriend to keep it a secret. Evan just feared it was happening again, why now of all days to feel out of character?

Jaren wanted to congratulate the Asian if he could find him. The two met months ago at someone else's party that was hosted at a freaking library. The young boy liked the older one's vibe and they formed a friendship ever since.

But it was hard to navigate through this. Depending on the type of party varies with the crowd size. Birthdays are number one for crowd control while below that are TGIFs, fake weddings and even food fights.

"Hey! I think they're gonna make an announcement for folks here to commend you," Tyler said loudly by Evan's ear.

"Now? Cool," Evan replied as loudly as he could but through his own figure he felt small and quiet. But Tyler smiled which meant he was heard.

Evan dropped his smile, turning his head. Something was watching him and he knew it.

"Have you seen Evan? No? Sorry, excuse me, have you seen Evan?" Jaren asked around which isn't usually his thing to do. Normally he goes the extreme to get everyone's attention then gets what he wants afterwards.

For some reason, he just felt the need to find this boy. It wasn't just to congratulate him either, Jaren had a raw sense of deja vu waiting to occur.

In due time he gave up, at this rate he won't find the Asian. Maybe he'll reveal himself via an announcement later, then he'll confront him.

Something about this party was unsettling. Jaren managed to exit the centre crowd dance floor and move to the kitchen for a drink.

Just by the smell of it, the fruit punch was spiked. Good enough. Jaren swiped an empty cup and filled it to the brim, taking a small drink.

Then someone bumped into his side, apologizing shortly after.

Jaren turned with a bored look but he ended up squeezing his plastic cup once he caught sight of a certain someone next to him, getting the same drink.

"Woah, you okay?" The boy with green eyes and blonde hair tied back in a ponytail asked.

"I-I...uh...hi?" Jaren stuttered, he lowered his cup to the counter, giving the boy a very confused look.

"Hi," the boy chuckled. "Sorry I didn't mean to bump into you, wasn't looking- here I'll refill your drink."

Jaren watched in wonder as the boy reached for a red cup. He noticed however that a ring or two were missing around his fingers.

Of course those rings couldn't go unnoticed the first time. Especially not after Jaren himself would make quiet sounds whenever the rings got stuck in his hair that night.

"Its fine, I'm good," Jaren insisted quickly but he frowned when the boy just smiled promptly and helped himself to a drink. "I thought you were out of the city."

"Huh?" The boy turned and seem to have a recollection of ever mentioning that. When he did, he laughed again, "Oh, I decided to stay another week since this city is far more entertaining than the ones I've been to. In fact, this city has one of the top ratings."

Jaren's smile fell, top ratings? Since when was there ever a ranking system? As far as Jaren knew, every city across the globe is of the same level of fun.

Unless this boy before him heard more of this place compared to the rest since he travels often.

Though, the boy doesn't seem to recognize Jaren as much as he expected.

It made the brown hair one feel distraught. After all this time of hoping to see this boy he slept with again, depleted him of his emotions. Why didn't he seem to care?

"So, do you know Evan?" Jaren decided to change topics. Maybe the boy was playing hard to get like he primarily was last Friday.

"Heard of him when I was in the area so I decided to check this place out. Its promising so far," the boy admitted.

Jaren just nodded and reminded himself that this was the kitchen, what a boring spot. He could hear teens shouting nonsense all around him.

"Hey, I didn't get your name last we met," Jaren reminded himself and the other boy who was taken aback.

"Oh, I'm Jo-" The boy was cut off by something happening around them.

All of a sudden the music cut and the DJ grabbed the microphone to announce what everyone's been waiting for all evening.

The DJ went around his table of soundboards to make himself presentable, "Listen up everyone! We're here for a special someone and he's somewhere in the crowd waiting to be showered with our undying love. Give it up for the birthday boy of the hour, Evan Fong!"

The crowd went wild yet again, party streamers and balloons made an alarming entry from the ceiling to rain down on the teens who continued their antics.

Camera lights flashed and drinks were tossed in their air.

Yet, the Asian was nowhere to be found walking to the podium.

The DJ cleared his throat and looked among the crowd himself, "Evan? You around here buddy? Anyone seen him?"

The crowd was in confusion. They turned to each other with shrugs and uneasy glances. Evan's never late to anythi-

A girl in the middle of the crowd screamed on the top of her head. The people around her backed away immediately, startled only to scream in unison to what the girl saw.

There laid Evan in his own pool of blood on the floor. His alcoholic drink mixing with the red substance.

He was dead. Eyes wide open, mouth ajar, motionless.

"Evan!" Jonathon came racing in, pushing through the crowd before crashing to his knees to the dead body. He covered his mouth as his eyes watered instantly. "Oh my god...oh my god..!"

"Jon," his brother, Luke, came over in time to hold his shoulders to draw him back a little. "Everyone back away!"

People were taking their phones out to record the situation, neither knew what to do at the moment. They've never encountered something like this.

"Who could've done this? Just who?" Jonathon continued to wail, he tried moving closer to his dead lover but his brother just held him back.

"What do we do? This has...never happened before.." A girl nearby said and no one had an answer.

"The world is gonna know by the time we think of something," a boy pointed out.

"I say we hide the body.."

"Maybe we burn it?"

"Never speak of it!"

"Never speak of it? We have to find out who killed him!"

"Who in their right mind would kill another teen? Everyone respects everyone here."

"Yeah! Evan had no enemies!"

All this talk riled up the crowd and soon the teens were pointing fingers. Everyone was just shocked to the happening and had no idea how to cope with it.

Jaren was hyperventilating, another dead body and this time it happened before his eyes. He turned to the boy who he was with only to find that he had disappeared.

Where to?

In came Ava, crashing into the boy's side with a frantic look. "Jaren, we have to go."

"Ava? What's wrong?"

"It's Bee. She's dead."

"...What?"

Jonathon got to his feet and backed away from the dead body to retrieve the microphone. He knew his boyfriend longer than anyone and so he felt the need to say something, "The world will know what happened tonight but this is our city. If anyone asks for further details, we mustn't speak a word of it for the safety of everyone. As for whoever killed Evan, we will find you and when we do, you will pay."

Everyone seem to be in an agreement to that. Some still looking scared but others were ready to defend their best friend who was now dead.

Little did they know, what happened tonight will change the course of history.

Jaren was going to puke. There she was, Bee's body in the back room of the flower shop with soil dirt littered over her body.

That's two in one night.

Ava had managed to calm down and it was a hassle to find the one person whom she could share this information with, "I found her like this...I didn't see anyone else in the area.."

Jaren approached the body still and bent down to see that the girl's blood was still running. He bravely touched her pale hand, it was warm, "She died mere minutes before you arrived, maybe even seconds."

"I would've seen something at least. Gosh, that's the third body."

"One known to the public, two unknown."

"Why is this happening now? Which cruel person is doing this?"

"More like persons. There's no way one person was in two places at the same time. Evan died minutes after Bee did."

That bit made sense. So there's more than one people running around killing innocent teens.

Jaren moved away the dirt more to see what the injury was on Bee's body, and when he found it, he nearly barfed again.

Ava had to look away from the gruesome sight.

Claw marks were slashed across the girl's chest. Her clothes torn open to reveal the bloody wounds.

"This can't be human," the boy mumbled. "No way it can.."

"...What's living among us?" The girl asked, afraid for an answer.

Jaren inspected the body closer and he noticed one crucial detail, Bee's left ear was missing completely. He turned her head to prove his words, "Bee always had two ears right? I couldn't tell under her hair."

Ava nodded, "Yeah, she did. Gosh, it took her ear? Why?"

Now the boy wondered if Evan was missing an ear. He didn't get the chance to see for himself.

So far, nothing was making any bloody sense.

All of a sudden their phones pinged in unison the same way they took it out to see a live broadcast back at the birthday party.

Jonathon had made a declaration about everyone at the party tonight. Those who were there will all be questioned, no take backs.

"This is bad. We were both there and everyone was recording some piece of the party. Our faces will be known," Ava pointed out.

"Does it matter? I know neither of us killed Evan- we know it wasn't a human that could've done it so if Jonathon calls for us then we'll go and tell him everything we know," Jaren said.

"But what do we know Smitty? I want to know what's killing our friends. I can't afford for another one to die, I just can't!"

"Shh, Ava, we'll figure this out, I promise. Bee nor Evan nor that other person will die in vein. Jonathon's right about one thing, this is our city and so it's our duty to find out what happened. Okay?"

Ava was pulled into a tight hug, her eyes closed tightly while Jaren had his head over her shoulder to look down at Bee's body.

Actually, this was good for one reason. The enemy among them wasn't a teenager and a missing ear might be a solid piece of evidence for what's to come.


	5. Among Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mason looked at each of them, "Okay, so who are these adult? Who do these voices belong to?"
> 
> Jaren felt just another sense of deja vu as if he knew too much about the world already and that it was a life threatening situation. But it was too late, the answer slipped from his mouth and he hadn't a clue of the consequences.
> 
> "Our parents."

Tuesday felt like an average Monday. Just the world continuing with their party like personalities. But here in Canada, the city of Toronto, partying just never felt the same again.

Since Evan was loved by everyone like no other, those who were at the birthday party were willing to stop by the same place to tell Jonathon what they know.

So was Jaren. One way or another he knew he would have to turn in otherwise he would be hunted by his own comrades.

And speaking of comrades, his closest friends seem to have conveniently turn up the same time at the pent house as him and Ava.

"What's going for you Ava?" Matt greeted since he hasn't the seen the girl for a while.

"Same reason as you apparently," Ava shrugged in response, hugging her own shoulders. For now she rather stay close to Jaren.

"I never saw you guys at the party," Jaren stated to his friends and together they marched into the empty lobby of the building. They knew which floor to attend.

Silence washed over them, an unsettling presence was foreign for the group teenagers. Right now they would be partying their asses off, but now it's a matter of life and death on their hands.

Something no one has encountered till now.

They rode the elevator quietly, listening to the music it provided. No one wanted to say anything for which they were too concerned over how Jonathon might conduct this interrogation.

In due time the doors slid open to reveal the same space where the party happened, but it was more tidied up and looking like an actual home.

And wouldn't anyone have guessed, most of the folks from the party where there either on the couches, against the walls or walking about.

This sight was just weird altogether. No one was smiling, no one was drinking, listening to music nor talking. This was not the vibe.

"I never saw these guys at the party," Matt mumbled, indicating Jaren's statement from earlier.

"Guess when the party's over you see everyone's true faces," Grizzy said truthfully and that fact made everyone gulp.

There was so much happening behind the scenes.

The group of friends found a space soft their own chill in for a moment.

Cameron signaled a boy nearby, "Hey, how does this work?"

Said boy fold his arms, "Jonathon takes in groups of people and ask them about the party. He wants every spec of detail."

A girl next to the same boy nodded in confirmation, "And he wants to see your phones for any form of footage."

Toby frowned and subconsciously held Cameron's hand out of fear, "I feel bad for the guy, I heard how close he was to Evan for some time now." Cameron squeezed her hand back and told her it'll be fine.

Jay and Mason just stuck their hands in their pockets and looked away uneasily. This was sickening.

Ava however pulled Jaren aside from the rest and towards a bookshelf for private space, she whispered, "This is great."

Jaren stared at her, confused for a moment, "What is?"

"If you and I know that a human didn't so this then the idea of collecting footage can work to our advantage. Maybe we can get a glimpse of what actually happened."

"That would mean telling Jonathon everything we know, Ava. Do you want to risk it?"

"What other choice do we have? They have to know the truth. We have to know the truth."

Jaren thinned his lips and glanced in his friends' direction, they looked just as worried as he was and Ava made very valid points. It's worth the shot.

So the grouped waited for what felt like hours that morning. Slowly yet surely, groups of teens were being called in by Jonathon's friends towards an office room.

In the distance, the sound of a party echoed around the streets. The teens in this current pent house wanted to leave so badly, but they knew their manners.

"Smitty, this your group?" Out came a dark skinned fellow named Marcel, one of the hot heads of the group. But he can be calm and collected when its important.

"Yeah, this is all of them," Jaren confirmed. Even though he wasn't near them during the incident at the party, he felt the need to stand by their side.

"Right this way. Make sure your phones are unlocked," Marcel instructed with a head motion towards an open door to a separate room.

In unison the teens unlocked their phones as requested and followed the other into the office room which had enough space for them to fit in.

The door shut and the group of teens were forced to face Jonathon who was leaning against the desk by the window. This truly was intimidating.

"Good, I know your faces and your names," Jonathon spoke first and begun to remember. "Jaren, Matt, Grizzy, Eric, Cameron, Toby, Ava, Mason, Jay...were you almost together at the party."

"Eric, Toby and I spent most of our time on the roof," Cameron answered for them and himself.

"I need a more accurate time duration," Jonathon stated seriously. Tyler and Luke standing on either side of him with their arms crossed.

"Like, the whole night?" Toby said. "We went there the second we arrived and only came down when the music stopped. But we remained at the foot of the steps to see the announcement."

"So you had an overview of the centre floor. Were any of you recording by any chance," pushed the blue eyed boy.

"Just me," Eric stepped forward with his phone out and he handed it to the other with the video ready.

Jonathon took the phone and hit play on the video. His eyes were dead focused in every frame and he primarily looked in the direction of the middle.

It was hard at first but there he spotted Evan in the middle, he wore the brightest red jacket with white stripes. It made Jonathon smile sadly to see his boyfriend in that moment.

But then the camera shifted to the announcer which was the DJ as the music stopped and so the attention on Evan was removed. There, Jonathon learnt something, especially when the girl screamed in the video and the dead body was discovered.

Jonathon returned the phone and watched Eric walk back to his friends, "So he was killed mere seconds after the DJ cut the music...how did no one see?"

Tyler shrugged, "The crowd was just taking a while to calm down so it was still fairly noisy and shoulders were still pressed. Like I said before, I was with him for the entire time but it's the very second I turned my back to face the front it just happened.."

That didn't stop the speaker from continuing to investigate, "Okay, you three are clean. What about the rest of you?"

Jay raised his hand momentarily, "I was with Mason the entire time. We were out back having rounds of drinking straight till the music cut."

Mason nodded, "Its when we heard the loud screaming from inside we made a move to find out what happened. As for recording wise, we didn't touch our phones."

They were cleaned, so Jonathon looked to the others.

Weird, a party of hundreds of teens yet not one saw a damn thing.

Matt spoke next, "Grizzy and I pulled up about an hour after the party begun. We spoke with Evan for a while before going to the dance floor ourselves. Grizzy had a recording however."

Grizzy handed Jonathon his phone and just like that the video was playing. Jonathon could almost feel himself in the teen's shoes, being there in the midst of the crowd. Is that how Evan felt?

Spotting a red jacket was a failure which meant that Matt and Grizzy were nowhere near the victim when he fell. Another dead end.

Now the attention returned to the last two people who haven't spoken yet.

Jaren spoke first, "I tried looking for Evan actually just to congratulate him on his sweet twenty but had no luck, so I went to the kitchen for a drink and I was there the whole night. I never once looked at my phone."

Ava nodded to vouch for the boy, "That's true, it's where I found him after the incident."

"And where were you before that then?"

"I had just arrived around that time.."

"So you ignored the matter at hand? Assuming you went to Jaren after Evan's body was discovered."

The girl stuttered and that was alone to raise some flags. Tyler and Luke looked at the teen in the middle of them who was gripping the edges of the desk tightly.

Jonathon marched his way over to her with cold blue eyes and fists that could break jaws, "What aren't you telling us Ava? You know something, don't you? And why would you run to Jaren if that's the case? Are you both in on something?"

Jaren got defensive by standing in front of the girl with a similar mean look, "Hey back off, we're in this together-"

"Together huh? What are you two hiding then? I swear, if it's in relations to my boyfriend's death I'll-"

"Actually Jonathon, what Ava and I know is in relation to his death so I advise you zip your lips and listen to what we have to say before your actions become consequences."

The room fell silent, everyone seemed on edge to this information. What could these two people know that they don't? This was truly uncanny.

Cold. Alone. Empty.

John knew he had failed so why not give up? Because these damn freaks of nature kept him alive for all the right reasons in their scummy plans for this earth.

Hour by the hour he watched the monsters work around the clock and each time he grew further and further away from the truth.

The only thing he understood in the moment was that he's being kept alive in a liquid filled test tube, and he wasn't the only one on display.

Rows and columns of the similar test tubes are where teens like him being captive. There had to be a pattern for these selected teens, but he hadn't a clue.

Some girls, some boys, some unconscious, some asleep forever. Though the asleep ones are taken from the chambers and sent off somewhere in the darkness of this lab, never to be seen again.

By the looks of things, to John, this was a farm for teenagers and these monsters are what have been operating behind the scenes, the true overseers in charge of the world.

But why? No one hadn't a clue and no one will ever find this place.

It's a death wish.

"Well, speak your mind," Jonathon gave the teen boy the spot light by taking a step back as requested. He was very curious to what has to be said here. Though that could be said by everyone.

Jaren looked at Ava who nodded, giving him the go.

"Evan...wasn't the only person who died. Two more did- one a couple days before yesterday and one just mere minutes from his own."

The guys in the room gasped to the news and looked at each other in fear. Jonathon however was listening attentively.

"That's why Ava came to me because we discovered the first person- or rather a part of them. Their hand was decapitated, cut clean from something sharp and tossed in a fertilizer bag. We're not sure where the remains could be."

"So Jaren investigated the flower shop where Bee worked- the girl who died within Evan's time period, and learnt something valuable I believe."

"Bee told me that this plant, the bells of Ireland, bloom in the western side of the world. So I'll ask you this, how did it get here? She didn't know but assumed it would be a random teen sharing their culture. But that wouldn't make any sense, its uncalled for of someone across the world to visit the opposing end. No ones ever truly questioned how our resources are restocked."

Luke idly stood next to his brother, "He has a point. Replenished food, exchanged drinks- we don't even have livestock around here."

Jonathon glanced at his brother.

Toby's eyes widen, "Of course, whoever or whatever is actually doing that behind the scenes is successful because we're too busying attending a party all week."

Cameron waved his hands, "I'm sorry, can we go back to the severed hand? What the hell is it doing in a fertilizer bag? Whichever person killed them must be an idiot."

Jaren frowned, "Its not a person. Jonathon, what was the wound on Evan's body. Some claw marks, right?"

There was a pause, then a nod.

Jaren continued, "Its the same thing we found on Bee, but not only that. Her left ear was missing. Was it the same for Evan?"

Another nod.

Jaren added, "And I know for a fact that a human couldn't have done this since our morale since the beginning has always been to respect each other. Also what we're dealing with isn't one entity because it couldn't have killed Bee then skipped to Evan that quickly."

Tyler pinched the ridges that grew on his forehead, "So let me get this straight. While we party our asses all night, there's something out there restocking everything we waste while killing our own in plain sight and not even attempting to clean up after? That doesn't make any sense."

Grizzy started to flick his wrist with a pointed finger as if he got an idea, "Unless someone- anyone- knows something they're not supposed to and this entity is showing that they aren't scared."

Toby crossed her arms and sighed shakily, "Three bodies in under a week. How far is this monster going to go?"

Jaren shook his head, "No more unless we figure out a pattern here. There has to be something we're over looking, something Bee and Evan had in common."

The guys fell silent, deep in thought. There was that rush of nervousness that pushed them to discover the answer for which they wanted this end as quickly as it begun.

"Wait a second," Mason got their attention. "Are you sure we should be discussing this? If Grizzy is right then this monster thing could be listening to us as we speak- if we know too much it could kill us."

"I rather not sit around and wait for another friend to die when there's a way to stop it," Jaren stated sternly. "I know there's a pattern here, even with just two people on the line." Two, since the hand doesn't distinguish whom it belong to.

After some time the group was met with a road block. Not many knew of Bee, they only heard of her name and summer personality whereas Evan was a whole different package.

Until Ava thought of something wild. "Evan's birthday was yesterday, twenty, right?"

Jonathon nodded, "That's why a party was held, why?"

Ava shifted her legs to start walking slowly, "Bee's birthday was the day before but she was silent about it and of course it fell on a Sunday, no one parties during that time. She was twenty also."

Eric stuttered, "Are you saying teens die when they reach age twenty?"

Jaren blinked to the thought, "Considering the vast majority of us are eighteen and below, it's rare for someone to be twenty. And being twenty isn't of a teenage agenda."

Cameron hummed in thought, "When was the last time we heard of someone turning twenty and actually living to tell the tale?"

No one answered, they couldn't think of anyone in particular.

Jaren sighed, "Again, rare. So it seems whatever it is feeding us behind the scenes wants to make sure that this world thrives on teenagers only."

"Well shit, being twenty is a no no? We can't prevent that! That makes no sense!" Tyler raised his voice.

"No Tyler, if we're right that this entity is keeping track of our ages then it seems likely that it rids us at that age. I mean, it's not like that person of age knows the truth to what's happening. They're still following the rules by living by none and having fun," Marcel pointed out.

"But what if they did. What if something actually happens when we hit that age and the entity has no choice but to silence us? Silence us from the truth," Jaren tackled.

"Wait a second.." Matt rushed to his friend's side, "That tweet Jimmy made! He posted it on the first hour of his birthday. His twentieth birthday!"

"I remember that tweet, folks said he was drunk," Luke said.

"What if he wasn't? The tweet mentioned some important stuff- here, I'll find it," Jaren took his phone out quickly.

"Do we know where he is now?" Jay asked.

"Actually, no. It was his last tweet ever posted. I heard he cancelled the party since he miraculously disappeared around the same time, never to be seen again," Ava said. "Wait...you don't think.."

"The hand we found in the fertilizer? It would make sense.." Jaren mumbled and his eyes flickered when he found the tweet he once jokingly recited. If only he knew then. "'You ever think...there's more to life than this? That's there's something besides partying all week long with people of our age group? Like, what was it life before? What was our purpose and meaning before stumbling on this path?'" Jaren then gasped, "Wait, there's more, he must've sent it sometime after. 'Today I heard voices of a man and woman, both seemingly familiar yet I couldn't identify fully. They felt...warm and welcoming and I wanted nothing but to tell them about my experience here and swindle in their arms...'"

Eric raised a brow, "Nope, sounds drunk to me."

Jonathon frowned, "No, Jimmy is speaking the truth. I never told anyone this because I thought it was irrelevant but the hour Evan turned twenty, he had this severe headache which caused him to pass out. When he woke up, he told me his experience, he said he heard a woman calling him names you would refer to a baby. He said she sounded familiar and he felt the need to be with her. Isn't it odd? The same thing that happened to Evan happened to Jimmy."

Ava hugged her elbows, "And probably Bee."

Tyler was still confused, "Okay so, we turn twenty, hear voices and get ourselves killed. That still doesn't add up."

Jaren bit the insides of his cheeks, "Its not just random voices. Notice how both Evan and Jimmy use adult terms, man and woman. Not girl, or boy or even a teen, actual adults."

"Like hell we should be questioning why the adults aren't here."

"Maybe we should be."

"No, it got our friends killed so why should we?"

Luke raised his hand to stop Tyler from arguing further with the other, "Jaren makes a fair point. Think about it, adults are absent and we've all subconsciously agreed not to bring them up since all that mattered was having fun. From what I've learnt is that it's a natural occurrence that either one of us turning twenty unlocks a crucial factor of the past that resides in our memories."

Mason looked at each of them, "Okay, so who are these adult? Who do these voices belong to?"

Jaren felt just another sense of deja vu as if he knew too much about the world already and that it was a life threatening situation. But it was too late, the answer slipped from his mouth and he hadn't a clue of the consequences.

"Our parents."


	6. Chaotically Impaired

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke laughed weakly to the plan, smart but also risky. He just couldn't believe something this extraordinary was really happening, "This is some promised neverland bullshit."
> 
> Matt stiffened, "We're gonna play tag for the rest of our lives?"
> 
> "...No."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note, account name change, again. Yeah I know, hopefully it's last time. Enjoy!

Learning something beyond your control can be challenging, but when it's only a group of 12 knowing this information against 1.2 billion others, it becomes sinister.

"So what's the plan here? We've only scratched the surface," Cameron said after what felt like eternity. Everyone was taking the time to digest this horrific truth about their world.

"Plan? What plan?" Tyler spoke. "We already know that learning the truth gets us killed so don't indirectly imply that we have to stop whatever the hell it is going on."

"So you want to hit age twenty and get killed either way? If the adults are still around here then it's possible that we can still live to see a day after our twentieth birthday," Jaren pointed. "If this monster can bleed then we have a fighting chance."

"But there's still so much we don't know about it," Ava spoke up. "We don't know for sure it can be bleed, be seen, or even be killed."

"I know, that's why I have an idea," the boy said and he sighed since it was a last minute decision. "I'm not asking for you all to side with me, we have our different opinions but I rather not die to some freaks that's been keeping us here in the world from the truth of life."

The guys shifted, some having a change of heart, some still looking iffy and a few willing to listen to the boy.

Jaren figured he may as well use the spot light now before he loses the chance, "We know that the monster hides in the shadows, waiting for a teen to turn twenty- that's when they strike. All we have to do is wait for any other teenager to turn that age and protect them. That way we should at least get a glimpse of the monster."

Luke laughed weakly to the plan, smart but also risky. He just couldn't believe something this extraordinary was really happening, "This is some promised neverland bullshit."

Matt stiffened, "We're gonna play tag for the rest of our lives?"

"...No."

Jonathon hummed in thought to the boy's idea. It wasn't that bad, with that many eyes on one person then nothing should go wrong. "Okay, I'm in. I won't speak for the rest of you however."

The others were thinking it over and based on their cautious gestures, the answer was obvious.

"I'm in, I wanna know the true reason why Bee was killed," Ava said and she quickly silenced Jaren before he could change her mind.

"Me too. Evan was a good friend of mine so I wanna look the monster in its eye and tell it to fuck right off," Marcel pitched in.

"If Jon's in then so am I," Luke concluded, he wasn't going to let his little brother out of his sight. "I say all hands on deck, we're the only ones aware of what's happening."

"The world only knows about Evan's death. There hasn't been any other reports similar to his," Jaren reminded. "Its best if we sort this out for now."

"Pft, of all the one billion teens in this world, our city just had to start a shit show. Whatever, I'm in also just to make sure you guys don't do anything stupid," Tyler mumbled.

That was all the older teens in on the plan. Jaren turned to his close friends, giving them a reassuring smile, he needed them more than ever and they knew it.

So with loosen up shoulders and steady smiles, it was an indicator that everyone was in on the plan.

Jaren was relieved, as much as he valued their lives as well as his own, he didn't want to do this alone, "Now for the main question, who here that we know is turning twenty anytime soon? Or someone in our circle that isn't present."

It was then Tyler, Marcel and Jonathon looked at Luke in sync.

Luke sighed, "My birthday is in two days, Thursday."

Jaren nodded slowly, "Do not host a party, we just need to stay together in one room or something and wait it out."

Grizzy snapped his fingers, "And while that happens, you might get the same effects Evan and Jimmy did in terms of the voices."

Marcel stepped forward, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We should start planning now, gather any form of weapon to defend ourselves. We don't know what we're up against."

Ava frowned, "Based on the claw marks, might be a big animal. Knives won't do the trick, we need a spear or-".

"A gun." All eyes were on Tyler.

"As if that's obtainable," Jonathon said.

"Yeah, those types of weapons don't even exist around here. Only in the books," Toby reminded.

"Which means these monsters planned ahead. They knew one day a rebellion would begin," Jay pointed out.

"And it's also a sign that we can defeat them by any means necessary," Jaren said with determination. "Back to business, knives, machete, anything sharp will have to do for now. Gather gears like helmets, shoe spikes, and so forth. In the meantime Jon, keep asking around for video footage, there has to be something we missed that night "

Everyone knew what they had to do whereas Luke was more worried than ever and he knew his brother would be too. But now they had a head start, maybe they can prevent another teen from dying.

"We haven't hung out much have we?" Matt decided to lighten up the mood when he entered the same space as Jaren in a super market. Now that they thought about it, who always restocked the shelves?

"This week has been wild," Jaren laughed weakly as he grabbed an empty basket to carry. "And I feel like it's only gonna get wilder."

"Feels like a movie if you asked me. Sorry I haven't been there for you bud."

"Don't be Matt.."

"No, really. I don't even know how your mental state is right now. I mean, you discovered a lifeless person without a warning and handled the situation fairly well. Any other teen would've freaked the fuck out."

Jaren hummed, perhaps so, lucky him then. He then playfully bumped Matt's shoulder, wanting him to worry no further and so Jaren said this'll be a race to see how many items they can gather to their aid in under twenty minutes.

The others have scattered elsewhere in the city to start grabbing resources.

As the two in the store ran around to drop stuff in their baskets, Jaren rounded a corner to the kitchen-ery isle only to bump into someone.

"Geez, can't go a day without bumping into you huh?" It was that same green eyed fellow from last night.

"Oh...hey," Jaren collected himself. "Say, where'd you go after yesterday? I didn't catch what happened."

"Me? Uh, I got scared," the boy answered and he flinched when Jaren raised a brow. "I'm serious! A dead body out of nowhere? It frightened me.."

"Okay, I'm sorry, I just grew worried that's all," Jaren quickly said. He noticed once again that the boy was missing his rings, maybe he lost them. "Anyways, I believe I asked you what your name was, I didn't get an answer.

"John."

"Hm?"

"My name is John."

"As simple as that huh?"

John chuckled, "What's a guy like you doing here anyways?" He turned to start walking down the isle.

Jaren subconsciously followed the boy, "I should be asking you. But if you're so curious, I'm just stocking up for my personal space."

The green eyed boy stopped to pick up some utensils, "Guess we ain't so different."

The brown haired one bit his lips and caught up, "So uh, since the party was an unfortunate disaster I'm guessing you're still gonna head out the city?"

"I don't mean to sound rude but, you seem pretty intrigued with what I'm doing."

"Are you forgetting that we slept together? How could I not?"

Jaren's cheeks flushed to the confession and his body stiffen when John stopped on the spot and turned to him.

John narrowed his eyes, "Did we now?"

Jaren looked mildly offended, "...Yes."

Then he laughed, the green eyed one to be precise. He then touched the other's shoulder and said he was only joking. That made Jaren feel slightly better.

Something was off.

"Smitty!" Matt came into the same isle, ignoring the new guy. "Jonathon said he found something important, we should get going- who's this?" Now he acknowledged them.

"Oh uh, Matt, this was uh, that guy," Jaren tried to imply where he was going with this and hoped his friend won't make him look like an idiot.

Matt of course didn't have the time to remember, "You made a new friend, cool, say bye bye and let's go."

Jaren didn't have a say in this conversation since he was immediately pulled away by the end of his sleeve and soon out the market itself.

John however noticed something crucial in Matt's basket. Items that can be used to craft dangerous resources. What for?

Maybe this city has a lot to offer after all.

Taking the wheel as always, Matt tossed his taken stuff in the back seat while driving towards the original location he and his friend were at before.

"What did Jonathon find?" Jaren asked.

"Something suspicious in a footage from the party," Matt recalled from the message he received. "Says he's not sure how to decipher it himself."

That couldn't be good, yet at the same time it was in terms of getting answers.

Minutes later and Matt parked his SUV around the lot out back. Him and his friend exited the vehicle to head inside.

When they did, the place was empty but Matt lead Jaren to the same room as before.

They were given entry and the only people in the room were Jonathon, Luke and a random teen girl.

"Good, you're here," Jonathon greeted and walked straight to Jaren specifically. "This is Kelly, a close friend of Tyler. She recorded the whole party and I think it's important that you see this."

Jaren was handed the girl's phone where he hit play to see what was captured. Matt had a look as well from over his shoulders.

The video started with a clear view of outside. Teens were piling to get into the funhouse (penthouse) while screaming nonsense for the fun of it.

Kelly was with her friends and together they moved into the lounge to hang around the couches with drinks in their hands.

The video then cut to Kelly approaching Evan at one point into the night for a selfie with the birthday boy before carrying on elsewhere.

Then it got to the main event. Kelly was in the crowd, fairly close to Tyler at the time.

Jaren's eyes widen when he saw it. A random person had marched right up to the Asian's side, jammed their hand up his stomach and left right then and there.

"A...human?" The words barely escaped the boy's mouth. "That's impossible, no human could've made such a wound and take Evan's ear, it's so...inhumane!"

"Unless they used a weapon of some sort," Jonathon speculated, taking the phone and returning it to the girl.

"Does the human look familiar to anyone actually? I don't think I've seen that face before," Matt mumbled.

"If they're human at all," Jaren said loudly, he refused to believe one of his own committed such a crime. "What if they're just...dressed up as a human or...fuck.."

Tyler frowned, "We have to consider our odds here, human or not they will be coming for Luke in two days. So we need to start getting ready."

Kelly didn't understand the situation but all she had to say was, "If it is a human killing our friends, would you guys harm them?"

There was a moment of silence.

Jonathon frowned, "If by all means necessary, we will."

The days to come will be brutal.

**Author's Note:**

> If you have found and enjoyed this story, thank you very much! This is something I've been meaning to bring to life whether it may go unseen or not, I've just always wanted to get it off my mind and go wild with it. As a bonus, it is my first book and first time on this media, so exploring every spec of detail will be challenging yet fun in the end!
> 
> In other words, my inspiration for this book came from 'The Promised Neverland' and 'Stranger Things' so expected a lot of thrilling, suspenseful vibes from the viewpoint of teenagers. Not to mention, I truly adore the content from the main characters in this book (Smii7y and Kryoz), placing them in these types of scenarios just works best for me so uh, yeah. 
> 
> Well that's all, have a good day ^^


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